The internet has radically transformed the way the world communicates, exchanges ideas and learns. This digital revolution could improve health, education and finances. However, billions of people still do not have access to an internet connection. They are therefore completely left out of all the advantages and benefits that it provides.

Google X, an Alphabet company, started in 2013 with a project to connect the unconnected. Their project called ‘’Project Loon’’ was a radical approach to expand internet connectivity around the globe. The project moved away from the traditional approach to expand internet from the ground. Instead, Project Loon uses the sky as their connectivity platform. Project Loon consists of a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, with the goal to deliver connectivity to people in underserved and unserved areas around the world (Loon, 2019).

The balloons from Project Loon combine advancements in machine learning, materials science, communications systems, atmospheric modelling and more. They are designed and built to survive in harsh conditions. The balloons are flying 20 km up in the stratosphere, where temperatures can drop to -90° C and winds can blow over 100 km per hour. This led to different challenges for the engineers. Google X managed to create a right type of balloons by using the most essential components of a cell tower and redesigning them to be durable and light enough for the stratospheric conditions (Google X, 2019).

Project Loon has already showed to be very useful in emergency situations after natural disasters. In September 2017 Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, destroying the mobile networks on the island. This led to a loss of internet connectivity on the island. Project Loon managed to deliver emergency connectivity to more than 200.000 people. The project teamed up with AT&T and T-Mobile to establish this (Google X, 2019).

In short, Project Loon is providing great opportunities to increase internet connectivity around the world. Do you think this project will make a big impact?

Bibliography
Loon (2019). Balloon Powered Internet. Retrieved from: https://loon.com/technology/

X Company (2019). Expanding Internet connectivity with stratospheric balloons. Retrieved from: https://x.company/projects/loon/

There is an increasing concern regarding the impact that meat consumption has on the planet. It is estimated that around a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving up the global temperatures originate from farming animals. One of the proposed methods to reduce these negative environmental impacts is to only produce animal muscle tissue, instead of whole animals. This technology is called ‘’cultured meat’’.

Cultured meat is produced by painlessly harvesting muscle cells from a living animal. These cells are then being nurtured and feed by scientists to stimulate multiplication of the muscle tissue. This tissue is biologically the same as traditionally produced meat (Maastricht University n.d.).

A Dutch company called ‘’Mosa Meat’’ was the first company to produce a lab grown-burger. It cost the company around €250.000 to create this burger back in 2013, which was mainly funded by Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google. Nowadays, Mosa Meat is working on scaling up and commercializing its business. The company is planning to launch its cultured meat in supermarkets in the next 2 to 3 years. It is expected that the price will go down from €250.000 to around €9 per burger (Clugston 2019), which is still relatively high in comparison to traditional burgers.

Research from the University of Oxford shows that producing cultured meat could reduce the space that is needed for farming animals with 99%. This can significantly lower the impact that the meat industry has on greenhouse gas emissions (Maastricht University n.d.). However, a recent research from Oxford Martin School questions whether cultured meat will really have such a positive impact on the environment. They argue that the energy intensive production of lab-grown meat could harm the environment even more than the farming of cows would (McGrath 2019). This argument has led to a lot of discussions, with many saying that the production method of cultured meat will most certainly change overtime, as soon as the technologies are more developed. Furthermore, the fact that this production method will save a lot of animals from getting slaughtered is often seen as an important argument to still have a positive view on cultured meat.

In short, there is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the beneficial impact of lab-produced meat. This leads to the question, whether consumers would actually eat cultured meat instead of traditional meat. Would you?

Biblography

Clugston, E. (2019). Mosa Meat: From €250.000 To €9 Burger Patties. Retrieved from: https://cleantechnica.com/2019/09/12/mosa-meat-from-e250000-to-e9-burger-patties/

Maastricht University (n.d.). What Is Cultured Meat?. Retrieved from: https://culturedbeef.org/what-cultured-meat

McGrath, M. (2019). Cultured lab meat may make climate change worse. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47283162